Board Nominee Bios

Below you will find statements from the Board nominees who are running this year. Please take a moment to read over them. 

Michael Applegate

Originally from Absecon, NJ, I grew up in a lower middle-class family and joined the Navy as a means of paying for college. In 1998 I enlisted in the Navy at the age of 20 and became a Cryptologist. I served 8 years and deployed to Diego Garcia 1999-2000, Denver 200-2002, and Pearl Harbor 2003-2006 as a submariner. I began to question the purpose of U.S. military intervention in the Balkans and Iraq and how my role directly and indirectly affected others.  In 2006 I was honorably discharged and moved to Chicago to complete my degree in Business Administration. I felt a complete disconnect from everything and everyone that I had known while in service. It was in February 2008 that I joined the Chicago chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War. During the past 6 years I have been actively involved in local, regional, and national events. I was a media liaison at Winter Soldier, Chicago chapter treasurer, participated in the 2012 NATO protest, and was transportation organizer for the 2013 convention. I have spoken at local high schools about the realities of joining the military as part of counter-recruitment. I have worked on a campaign with National Nurses United at the Hines and Jesse Brown VA Hospitals to improve better working conditions for nurses and better care for our brothers and sisters which resulted in the creation of a women's clinic and more nurses hired. I have been to countless protests, fundraisers, and speaking events. I am a member of one of the most active and hardest working chapters in the country and will bring this same level of work ethic as a Board member. I value input from all members and will base my decision on what is best for the organization. 

Sara Beining

I enlisted in the Army at 17, I think, as part of the D.E.P. I spent a year messing around, getting in trouble, and realizing that I was not making good decisions before I decided to go through with heading on to Basic Training and then AIT to become an intelligence analyst (96B). I left for Basic in June 2004. I was stationed eventually at Fort Hood in the G2 office, and then went to Iraq from December 2005 through November 2006. I went AWOL in January of 2007 and looked back once, only to go AWOL again (September 2007). I joined IVAW when a protest march interrupted my trip to the beach in Kennebunkeport, Maine, in early summer of 2007. I currently am divorced, have a usually-lovely 4 year old who loves He-Man and Shawna Foster, am employed part time at the Writing Center at my college in Indiana, and am a full time student.

Graham Clumpner

I am a former ranger and infantryman. I was nominated and am running for the board to focus on a few things. My priorities will be as follows.

To create a more inclusive organization that includes members who have served in post 9/11 roles, not just in Iraq. To do this I will prioritize the Name Change in our organization as the single most important thing that can bring in money and bring unity to this organization. I have been a part of this process for four years. I understand what it will take and will not rest until this is completed. 

I will seek to play a role that highlights Climate Change in our work around militarism. This will include education within our organization and building with other coalitions. I believe climate change is the single greatest threat to our civilization and a deep parallel with the work we do in this organization. 

I will support the board's move toward a more prominent organizing role that allows members to focus on their passions and to build up work areas that are ready to move on day 1. 

I am an Afghanistan veteran.

I will prioritize financial stability by seeking to fund what we can do. 

For some time our organization has sought to build a movement of veterans to oppose war. I believe our only chance for success is to partner with other groups within the movement, to do what we do best and utilize the depth of knowledge and experience that is already out there. We don't need to reinvent the wheel and we don't need to do everything. 

Make no mistake, a vote for me is a vote for a name change. If you do not believe we should change the name of this organization then you should vote NO when my name comes up. Thank you for your consideration. 

Kelly Dougherty

As a member of the IVAW Board of Directors I will work to represent the membership by providing strategic direction to the staff to guide their time and organizational resources.  I will provide oversight for budget and assist in fundraising so that IVAW has the necessary resources to accomplish our work.  I will also work with the board to review our by-laws and other relevant organizational documents to ensure we're in compliance with our own policies and directives.  I hope to make clearer means of communication between the board and the membership so that members understand any decisions being made and have clear avenues of participation.  

I've served on the board previously as board chair in 2006, and worked closely with the board as executive director from 2006-2009.  I was also on the board for several months in an interim capacity prior to the 2012 IVAW convention in Baltimore.  Currently, I have time to commit myself to serving on the IVAW board.  I will bring my dedication to IVAW and our members, my past experience, and my dedication to ensuring that IVAW remains a definitive voice countering militarism to my role as a board member.  

Shawna Foster

My role as board member is to represent the wishes of the members as  fiduciary agent of the board. This means taking due diligence in making sure the organization can complete its mission financially, legally, and strategically.  It also means providing feedback and partnership with the staff by making sure IVAW is a great place to work. Finally, communicating the decisions the board faces and why it made particular decisions to the wider membership and listening to the memberships' opinions on these decisions is an important function of any board member.

My particular interest of service for IVAW in the next few years is to strengthen our programmatic successes by identifying systemic adaptive challenges that the leadership must meet. It is my hope that in recognizing the organization's cultural challenges we face, we unite with solutions across differences to complete the mission,  and use those differences in thought to create solidarity among ourselves and in coalitions outside IVAW.

By addressing these issues as adaptive challenges rather than technical problems or personal shortcomings,  I believe that the board will better understand its role to guide the organization with membership input with a long term view instead of a short term reactionary view.  This will ease the workload of the board and naturally motivate it to be more communicative and responsive. 

Zollie Goodman

I'm Zollie Goodman I was discharged in 2006 and joined IVAW in 2006 maybe early 2007 not exactly sure. I was a founding member of the NE florida chapter and was and am mentored by my dear friend Scot Camil in Gainesville Florida. I participated in the Winter Soldier hearings in 2008 in winter springs MD, and in 2009 left the country. I moved to Eastern Europe where I lived in post communist balkan countries experiencing a vastly different way of life and culture. I spent years there raising 2 daughters, farming, self healing, learning different skills, and traveling Europe both east and west taking in different cultures and societies. I returned to the US in 2013 and have had many severe and drastic life changes since.

I have changed greatly over the years since my military service, I have come to be an accepting person an open person and an honest person. Treating people with acceptance and respect is extremely important to myself especially in a professional setting.  I speak Bulgarian, Serbian, some Romanian, Russian and Italian. Living abroad sometimes in Nations which we have had recent military conflicts very much so opened up my mind to the realities of the lasting effects of war physically, mentally, and emotionally not just on the people who fight in the conflict but also the people who live through it on there home soil. If I were elected to the board I would simply try to vote with what I felt was in the best interest of IVAW, Promote safe spaces for the exchange of ideas free of bigotry and threats, and adhere to our Bi laws once they are re-instated and the laws that govern us as a 501.3c non profit organization.  I feel our inability to maintain a functional board based on the non enforcement of policies that we have in place is an unacceptable way for us to be discredited, so in turn the enforcement of our policies designed to make us a strong organization is of the utmost importance to our effectiveness and legitimacy.

Aaron Hughes

Aaron Hughes is an artist, teacher, organizer, and Iraq War veteran, whose work seeks out poetics, connections, and moments of beauty, in order to in order to construct new languages and meanings out of personal and collective traumas. He use these new languages and meanings to create projects that attempt to de-construct systems of dehumanization and oppression. On January 30, 2003 Aaron was pulled out of the University of Illinois and called to active duty with the 1244th Transportation Company Army National Guard out of North Riverside, Illinois. On April 17, 2003 his Company was deployed to Kuwait under Operation Iraqi Freedom. There he supported combat operations by transporting supplies from camps and ports in Kuwait to camps in Iraq. After three extensions, totaling one year, three months and seven days, Aaron's Company was redeployed home to North Riverside Illinois on July 24, 2004. Aaron returned to the University of Illinois in the spring of 2005 as a student majoring in painting with the need to express and share his experiences with others and began to use art as a tool to confront issues of dehumanization, militarism, and occupation. Aaron went on to receive an MFA in Art Theory and Practice from Northwestern University in 2009. From July 2009 to November 2012 he served as the Organizing Team Leader for IVAW were he worked on developing the IVAW Field Organizing Team, IVAW's first strategic campaign Operation Recovery, and many other actions including the 2012 NATO protest. Aaron has worked on such projects as Warrior Writers, Combat Paper, Drawing For Peace, Operation First Casualty, Winter Soldier, the Demilitarized University, the Field Organizing Program, Operation Recovery, War is Trauma portfolio, Celebrate People's History: IVAW portfolio, and the Tea Project. What do you see as the role of a Board member? Strengthen IVAW's organizational structure. Providing leadership in addressing IVAW barriers, structures, policies, conflicts, and accountability. What vision do you have for IVAW in the next few years? I organization that grounds itself in our work and community and begins to develop work to help us realize our mission. How will you work to make the Board a sustainable and accountable component of IVAW? I will help develop realistic work plans with clear priorities. I will embrace a positive patient approach to addressing organizational issues and conflicts. Putting out a positive and encouraging energy. We are getting better every day.

Lisa Ling

Lisa Ling joined the military in 1991, serving as an army medic and nurse before transferring to the Air National Guard (ANG). In the ANG, I became a communications technician working on various types of electronic equipment. I served 6 years on active duty and over 14 years as both active and inactive guard. I was honorably discharged (retired) in September 2012.  Early in my military career, I believed the United States Military offered her a sense of purpose, as a force of good around the globe. I have served during peace time and supported operations from the first Gulf War through the Global War on Terror. My opinion changed after I came home from the Middle East and questioned my participation. I have been active in both the Occupy movement (OWS) and Iraq Veterans against the War (IVAW) since 2012 supporting various actions throughout California. I, if elected, feel it is important to create ways for our membership to communicate the direction they would like us to go and where they can participate as an organization even if travel is impractical for them to communicate face to face. I would vote for things we have the resources to support which includes staff, funds and members. I would like to work within the framework started by Maggie and the VOT. I would vote on things I feel are in the best interest of IVAW as a whole. I do not believe in the phrase "Just a member". Without the membership, we would not be who we are, I believe members, supporters, staff, and the board can be equal parts of the whole of IVAW and that safe effective communication is important. I would work within our VVM toward clearly defining policies and roles so that they can be enforced equally across our membership, board and staff. I would work towards establishing and maintaining standards of conduct so that our board staff and membership can work in a functional, safe and respected environment. I am in this for the long haul and want to continue to grow and progress within this wonderful and caring community.

Scott Olsen

Check out Scott's bio by clicking on this link.

Jose Vasquez

Jose Vasquez served in the U.S. Army (1992-96 active; 1997-2007 reserve) as a cavalry scout, medic, nurse, and health services instructor. He was honorably discharged as a conscientious objector. Jose is a founding member of the NYC chapter, served on the board (2006-2009), and worked as the executive director of IVAW from 2009-12. He helped organized Operation First Casualty NYC (2007) and Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan (2008). He is currently pursuing a PhD in Cultural Anthropology at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Statement -

As a board member my role is to raise funds, govern through sound policies and decision making, and shape IVAW's strategic focus. The board represents the interests of the membership and protects the overall organization. They are also charged with hiring, supervising, evaluating and if necessary firing the co-directors. In turn they should provide the co-directors with the guidance and resources to carry out their duties in support of our mission. 

IVAW has weathered some difficult challenges in the last couple of years. The incoming board has some important tasks ahead including revising our bylaws to reflect our current structure, possibly re-branding the organization, and sustaining the growth and stability of the organization. In the current global context, we have an opportunity to take leadership in the peace movement make a significant impact.

During my term I will do my part in setting and achieving fundraising goals, fostering a culture of open and honest dialogue among members and allies, creating inclusive spaces, and ensuring the board is accountable to our stakeholders.